Indigenous groups criticize Wab Kinew for saying residential school denialism shouldn’t be illegal

Leaders of Indigenous groups are speaking out against Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew’s recent comments that residential school denialism should not be considered a crime.

Kinew made the comments on Friday to CBC Manitoba’s Information Radio host Marcy Markusa, in response to federal NDP MP Leah Gazan’s private member’s bill to amend the Criminal Code regarding the promotion of hatred against Indigenous people.

The bill brought forward by Gazan, who represents the federal Winnipeg Centre riding, seeks to make it illegal to condone, deny, justify or minimize the residential school system in Canada through any statements beyond a private conversation.

“I have a lot of respect for MP Gazan, but I don’t think we can criminalize this,” Kinew said Friday. “I think we have to just do the continued work of educating people and trying to combat misinformation.”

National Family and Survivors Circle president Hilda Anderson-Pyrz said in a Monday interview Kinew’s statement “creates further harm” for survivors of residential schools and others affected by their legacy, especially amid continued denialism of the harms caused by the institutions.

“A premier should be concerned about that, and look at what he can do as a political leader to create accountability mechanisms,” said Anderson-Pyrz, whose siblings were forced to attend residential school.

“Education is important, but we also need accountability mechanisms to prevent further harm from being caused to Indigenous communities.”

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs also posted a statement on social media in response to Kinew’s comments, saying it was “extremely disappointed” in the premier’s stance.

When asked for a response on Monday, a spokesperson for Kinew’s office said the premier’s previous comments still stand.

For a period of more than 150 years, from the 1830s until 1997, First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were taken from their families and communities to residential schools, often far from their homes. Most were government-funded and run by Christian religious organizations.

The schools were designed to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. An estimated 150,000 children across Canada attended the schools and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has documented more than 4,000 who died while attending them.

Some ‘don’t want to be educated’: Gazan

Gazan said Monday her bill seeks to add residential school denialism to the section of the Criminal Code that explicitly criminalizes denialism of the Holocaust.

She said while education about residential schools is important, “we’ve been trying to educate for a long time.”

Leah Gazan, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, speaks in Ottawa in this file photo. Gazan has introduced a private member’s bill to make it illegal to condone, deny, justify or minimize the residential school system in Canada through any statements beyond a private conversation. (The Canadian Press)

“Some people don’t want to be educated,” Gazan said. “I think it’s another burden that we’re placing on survivors. It’s another form of violence. It’s another attack on dignity, safety and security.”

Gazan also said there “doesn’t need to be an either-or” approach to responding to denialism with either education or legal consequences — and criminalization is needed for “extreme cases of people that are using positions of power” to spread disinformation.

Though her recent request for an emergency debate on denialism in the House of Commons was not approved, she plans to keep pushing for the legislative changes, as she’s pledged to residential school survivors. 

“I’m going to keep my promise. What do I have if I don’t keep my word?” Gazan said.

Gazan first introduced Bill C-254 in October 2024, but it died when the spring 2025 election was called. She reintroduced it in October 2025.

All bills must go through three readings, which also involves committee reviews and final debates, before being granted royal assent and enacted into law. The bill has yet to reach a second reading.